Rushdie to speak at Indian conference two months after death threats forced him to pull out of literary event

Salman Rushdie will return to India this week to speak at a conference less than two months after death threats forced him to pull out of Asia's biggest literary festival in the country.

The Booker Prize-winning author cancelled a trip to India in late January after news of his visit upset some Indian Muslim groups.

Mr Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses is considered blasphemous by some Muslims because of the way it portrayed the Prophet Muhammad.

Visit: Salman Rushdie will return to India this week to speak at a conference two months after death threats forced him to pull out of Asia's biggest literary festival

The British Indian writer, who spent years in hiding after the book's publication, subsequently accused Indian authorities of pandering to zealots, and spoke in a television interview of India becoming 'a totalitarian state like China'.

Mr Rushdie, who won the Booker Prize for his novel Midnight's Children in 1981, will speak on Friday in New Delhi alongside writer Aatish Taseer at a conference hosted by the India Today media group.

Share this article

He will participate in a discussion called The Liberty Verses, according to the event's website.

Ashok Damodaran, a senior editor at the India Today Group, said: 'So far there has been no demand for his ban.'

'I think it's excellent,' said author William Dalrymple, who was the director of the Jaipur Literature Festival which Mr Rushdie had been scheduled to attend, referring to the author's plan to return.

He added: 'Our mistake at Jaipur was to announce his visit three weeks in advance, which gave everyone who opposed his visit time to mobilise.

'And of course it took place during an election.'

Controversial figure: Mr Rushdie will participate in a discussion called The Liberty Verses alongside writer Aatish Taseer at the New Delhi event

Aatish Taseer is the son of Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province who was killed by his own bodyguard last year because he had called for the reform of the country's anti-blasphemy law.

The 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses sparked protests around the world and death threats against Mr Rushdie after Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini claimed that the novel's portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad insulted Islam.

Mr Rushdie has not commented on his latest visit to India, the first country to ban the book.

India's Congress party-led government has been hit by accusations of censorship since late last year, when New Delhi urged social network companies including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove offensive material.

The row over Mr Rushdie's appearance at the Jaipur festival led to further criticism of the Congress party, which at the time was approaching a crucial election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and home to a large Muslim minority.

Mr Dalrymple said: 'There has been some positive outcome from the whole experience at Jaipur, in that it did provoke a national debate.'

It emerged last month that Mr Rushdie’s attempts to wed for the fifth time were wrecked after a marriage proposal to his latest girlfriend was rejected.

Michelle Barish turned down his request and gave back the seven-carat emerald-cut diamond ring he had given her.

The author had proposed to the stunning ex-wife of Chris Barish, the co-owner of nightclub chain Marquee, last December.

Share or comment on this article:

Salman Rushdie to speak at Indian conference two months after death threats forced him to pull out of literary event